Haunted
by Hieikitten
Summary: He saved her from the flames, and promised to return for her. But, will she want to go with him after all he has done? - A bit inspired by Kelly Clarkson's song "Haunted". Implied SephirothxOC
1. Chance Encounter

**Author's Notes:** After finding some videos of Crisis Core, I have rewritten some parts of this first chapter to add some more dialogue and details. Also, FF7 and its characters belong to Square Enix. Adelina, AKA Addy, however, belongs to me.

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><p>I was four when my parents died. Mrs. Strife had been babysitting me for them, like she always did, while they had went to Mt. Nibel. Mrs. Strife had been a good friend of both of my parents for many years, and she had a son of her own, a boy named Cloud.<p>

Late that day, one of the men from the village came and spoke with Mrs. Strife while I was playing with Cloud in his room. Cloud is three years older than I am; he was seven back then. After the man left, Mrs. Strife came into the room with tears in her eyes. Cloud and I had asked her why she was crying, and she looked at me sadly.

"Your parents," Mrs. Strife had choked out. "They were f-found at Mt. Nibel... They... fell. They're dead." She sobbed, and I stared at her for the longest moment, her words taking a while to register in my young mind. Once the words had sunk in, I cried. I cried for an hour, maybe longer, until my tears had run out. Mrs. Strife held me close the entire time, stroking my hair gently.

"Mo-mother! Fa-father!" I choked out. My throat had gone dry. I could not believe it. How could my parents, of all people, be dead? It wasn't true. It couldn't be true. Could it? Part of me knew it was true, although I had wished that it wasn't. "Make them come back!"

"Shh." Mrs. Strife had spoken quietly, soothingly into my ear. "I am here, dear. I'll always be here for you." She added softly. I clung to her as I closed my eyes tightly shut, trying as hard as I could to escape the pain of loss that was welling up inside of my heart.

From that day forward, Mrs. Strife had become like a second mother to me. She had taken me in and cared for me. I came to think of her son, Cloud, as my older brother. It was through Cloud that I met Tifa Lockheart, who has treated me like a little sister ever since the day we first met. I'm thankful for her company these days, with Cloud not being around all the time.

Cloud had went to work for the Shinra Company at age fourteen, when I was eleven. I want to work for Shinra, too, someday. When I first brought it up, neither Cloud, his mother, nor Tifa had liked the idea of me working for Shinra very much. But if I worked for Shinra, maybe I would get to see Sephiroth in person? Maybe I could even get the chance to talk to him?

Sephiroth is a SOLDIER, one of the best, and I've been in love with him ever since the first time I saw him(I think he was on the TV, or maybe I just saw a picture of him in the newspaper? I can't remember). I know, it must sound hopeless, right? I'm only thirteen, and he's like, over ten years older than I am. But, a girl can hope, can't she?

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><p>It was a lovely day, and I was outside talking with Tifa and watching the cloudless blue sky as birds flitted across it. <em>Such a nice day, <em>I thought to myself. The sun warmed my skin as it shone down on Nibelheim.

"Do you think Cloud will visit soon?" I asked Tifa. I hadn't seen Cloud since he had left to become a SOLDIER two years ago, and I missed him.

"I hope so." Tifa replied, looking up at the sky. For a while after that we just stood there in silence, watching the sky and the birds. Then, we heard a commotion coming from the front of town. Curious, as I always was, I headed in that direction to see what was up, Tifa following behind me.

When we arrived, I saw four men getting out of the back of a truck. The first two men who came out of the truck wore uniforms and helmets; _infantrymen, _I told myself silently. The third man to come out of the truck had black hair and blue eyes, and he was dressed in the normal SOLDIER attire. _A real SOLDIER, _I thought excitedly.

The black haired man was rather handsome, but my attention was soon turned towards the fourth man who was getting out of the vehicle. My heart started pounding as I looked him over. He had beautiful, long silver hair that flowed down his back, and he had stunning cat-like aqua eyes.

The man I now gazed upon was none other than Sephiroth. _The _Sephiroth, in the flesh. I watched as Tifa walked over to the four men, as they were heading towards the Inn. She spoke to the black haired man for a little while before she ran off. I stood there, watching as Sephiroth and the three other men entered the Inn. I couldn't believe it. Sephiroth was in Nibelheim! Perhaps I would get a chance to talk to him?

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><p>It was September 21st, and I had slept restlessly the night before. My mind had been filled with thoughts of Sephiroth. It was dawn, a bit early for me to be up, but I got up anyway and got dressed. I had a quick meal, and then went to see if Tifa was up. She was, and we talked for a short while.<p>

"I have to get to work now, Addy." Tifa said to me. Addy is the pet name that she and Cloud call me. My real name is Adelina.

"Right now, Tifa?" I asked, looking at her.

"Yes, right now." Tifa said. "I'll come by later, if I can, okay?" She added, smiling at me. I nodded, but otherwise did not reply as I watched her walk away. I sighed, wondering what I would do now that I was alone. I decided to go for a walk around Nibelheim. Maybe I would see Sephiroth?

After a few moments of strolling through the town, I gazed up at the sky and noticed a few clouds. I thought of my "big brother" while I wandered about town aimlessly. Then I noticed Sephiroth and the other three men from the day before. I watched as they approached Tifa, and she spoke to them.

_So, that's her job! To show them around Mt. Nibel,_ I guessed. Tifa worked as a tour guide in the mountains. I had worried about Tifa working in those mountains at first, since my own parents had died there. But, gradually, as I had accompanied Tifa into the mountains numerous times before, I had stopped worrying so much.

I now wished that I had decided to become a tour guide like Tifa. Then, a thought occurred to me: I knew those mountains well by now. As well as Tifa knew them, at least.

"Tifa," I said quietly as I walked over to her. "Co-could I come along?" I asked, almost shyly. I noticed Sephiroth's cat-like eyes looking in my direction and I blushed. _Why is he looking at me, _I wondered? I glanced down at my attire. I was wearing a black tank top, dark brown cargo pants and black and white sneakers. Not the most girlish thing to wear. _Why didn't I wear a dress today, for once?_

"Well, you _are _a tour guide, too, Addy." Tifa said after taking a moment to think. I looked up at her in hardly concealed anticipation. "Sure, you can come." She finally said, and I smiled gratefully at her. Tifa knew how in love with Sephiroth I was.

"Thank you, Tifa." I whispered to her. She smiled and then winked at me, causing me to blush a deeper red. I noticed that a man with a camera stood nearby, ready to take a picture of us. Tifa took off her hat, straightening her hair, and lightly bumped into me, causing me to stumble sideways and bump into Sephiroth who now stood beside me.

"So-sorry.." I mumbled, blushing. I heard the camera man say something and looked up just as he snapped a picture of us. I felt my cheeks burning.

"Shall we go?" Tifa asked afterward, receiving a nod from Sephiroth. The six of us then headed out of Nibelheim, and toward the mountains. I could hear Tifa talking about something every now and then, but my attention was mostly fixed on Sephiroth, so I didn't hear a word that she said.

We had not gotten that far up the mountain when darkness fell and we had to set up camp. We camped on the trail and I let my hair, normally held in a ponytail, fall to hide my face while I watched Sephiroth. My heart was still pounding, and my cheeks were burning. I thanked Tifa a thousand times over in my mind for letting me come along. It wasn't long into the night when I fell asleep.

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><p>The next day was uneventful. I had learned from Tifa that we were heading towards the Mako Reactor in the mountains. That night, while we were all camped around a fire and Tifa was talking to the young man with black hair whose name, as I had found out, was Zack Fair, Sephiroth noticed me watching him.<p>

My heart pounded louder and I averted my gaze while I felt my cheeks burn. I then decided to go to sleep, with my back towards Sephiroth. _I shouldn't have stared at him like that, _I scolded myself silently. He had never said anything about my staring at him. He probably thought that I was just some silly girl. After all, I was a thirteen-year-old girl who was in love with him. I wished I was older and more endowed, like Tifa was.

I'm rather lacking in the chest area, and I'm slim, but not very curvy at all. I have brown hair that falls just below my shoulders, and eyes as green and shining as emeralds. People in Nibelheim have called me pretty, but I don't really listen to them. _Tifa's the pretty one, _I had always told myself.

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><p>On the third day of our trek through Mt. Nibel, one of the infantrymen fell to his death. It made me remember what had happened to my parents. I was so shaken by it that I almost turned around and ran back to Nibelheim. But, I was able to calm myself down by telling myself that he had fell only because he was unfamiliar with the path through the mountains. So on we went.<p>

We camped out again that night, on the trail as before. Tomorrow we would reach the Mako Reactor. I was unable to sleep that night, still thinking about the man who had fell to his death. Just like my parents had done years ago. My heart ached, remembering my parents.

I held on tightly to my knees as I stared at the camp fire, remembering that day nine years ago when Mrs. Strife had told me that my parents had been found dead. I held back the tears that were threatening to spill out of my eyes. Then I noticed that Sephiroth was watching me.

Everyone else was asleep. I had thought that Sephiroth had gone to sleep as well, but I guess not. I didn't look away this time. I couldn't look away. His cat-like eyes held me in a trance. I don't know how long we stared at each other like that. I could not read his thoughts, or his emotions. He was so mysterious. Neither of us said a word. At some point, while I was staring into his eyes, I fell asleep.

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><p>The next day we finally reached the Mako Reactor. Tifa wanted to go inside and take a look, and so did I, but Sephiroth told us that we were not permitted to go inside the Reactor and the remaining infantryman would not let neither Tifa nor myself into the Reactor, so we had to wait outside while Zack and Sephiroth went inside.<p>

I was bored and restless, and soon started pacing while we waited. I must have still been in a daze from the night before, for my mind hardly registered what happened next. A monster had attacked us, and the infantryman tried to protect Tifa and myself from it, albeit with little success and was injured in the process. Tifa, though, had been learning martial arts and so she could defend herself rather well.

Two more monsters showed up, however, and I worried that Tifa would not be able to hold them back. Zack came out, thankfully, to fight the monsters before Tifa could be injured. Afterward, with the monsters gone, Tifa and I helped the infantryman down the mountain while Zack followed us, making sure no more monsters attacked us.

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><p>When we arrived back in Nibelheim early on September 27th, Sephiroth was nowhere to be found. Tifa went to ask around town to see where Sephiroth had gone. I hung out by the Inn, lost in my own thoughts until Tifa came and said that Sephiroth was at Shinra Manor, where he then stayed for several long days.<p>

What exactly Sephiroth was doing in that mansion, I will probably never know. But, I know that something had happened to him back at the Mako Reactor. As we had headed down the mountain, I had glimpsed him leaving the Reactor. Some part of me was now terrified of him, after seeing the look in his eyes as he had exited the Reactor.

I didn't see Sephiroth again until October 1st, when he finally decided to come out of the mansion. I was walking around Nibelheim, within sight of the mansion, when I saw Sephiroth. He left the mansion, but I soon lost sight of him as he slipped between the buildings. I was wandering around the buildings, trying desperately to find him, when I smelt it: Smoke. Fire. Something burning. Before my mind could register what was happening, a wall of fire rose up in front of me. I jumped back and screamed.

It wasn't long before I heard other people screaming, as well. Terrified, I ran. I did not know where I was going, and I suddenly found myself trapped. I was surrounded by fire, with no way to escape it. Tears welled up in my eyes. Was I to die here? Smoke stung my eyes and I started coughing as it filled my lungs, threatening to choke me.

My vision was starting to get blurry and I felt very dizzy. Then, suddenly, I saw a figure coming out of the flames. I thought I was hallucinating. If I was, I did not mind. Seeing the long silver hair that flowed down the figure's back and his aqua eyes, I felt like a knight had come to rescue me.

Silently, he walked over to me and picked me up in his arms before I could collapse to the ground. The smoke was really getting to me by this point. I coughed again before I looked up into his face. His eyes were different, somehow. Softer. No longer did he seem quite so mysterious to me.

I saw things in his eyes then that I had not seen before: Pain. Sadness. Anger. The anger seemed strongest, although I could tell by the way that he looked at me that he was not angry with me. He was angry at something else. I wondered what could have made him so angry?

My mind briefly registered that he had carried me out of the flames and away from the burning buildings, but not too far away from Nibelheim. My eyes were still fixed on his face; he was so handsome. I wondered what it would be like to see that face every day.

Suddenly, Sephiroth was setting me down on the ground. I reached out for him in alarm as I felt myself losing consciousness. I did not want him to go, to leave me all alone here. I wanted, more than anything, to be close to him.

"I will return for you." Sephiroth told me quietly. Then, my world went black.


	2. Reunion

**Author's Notes: **FF7 and its characters belong to Square Enix. Adelina, AKA Addy, however, belongs to me.

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><p>It has been five years since that day when the flames had consumed Nibelheim. Five years since that day when Sephiroth saved me from the smoke and the flames. I wonder now why he had chosen to save me. After all, he had been the one to set Nibelheim ablaze, as I had learned from Tifa after it all. So, why did he choose to save me?<p>

_I will return for you._ Sephiroth's words rang in my head. _You never did,_ I thought bitterly. It had probably been an hallucination, anyway. What he said to me. Although, I so wanted those words to be true. Learning what he had done, and knowing that Tifa hated him for it like she hated SOLDIER and Shinra now, had not taken my love for Sephiroth away.

When I lay in bed at night, asleep and dreaming of that day and of Sephiroth, I wish it had taken my love for him away. How could I still love him, after what he had done? He had set my home on fire, and he had hurt Tifa. Yet still, I wanted to see him again. At least one more time.

_It doesn't matter now,_ I tell myself. I am now eighteen, and I still have the same slim body that I used to, although I now have a few more curves. I've let my hair grow longer, and I keep it in a ponytail most of the time. I'm still lacking in the chest area, although not as much as before, and I am only an inch shorter than Tifa at 5 feet and 3 inches tall.

I now work for the Shinra Company, in their main building, as a researcher and assistant in the lab. I have not seen or heard from Cloud since he left to join SOLDIER all those years ago, and I have not seen Tifa since the day I turned fourteen. That was the day when I had left to get a job at Shinra.

Tifa hates Shinra, after what had happened to Nibelheim, and she had tried desperately to get me to change my mind about working for Shinra. But, I would not be swayed. If anything, what had happened to Nibelheim had made me more determined than ever to work for the Shinra Company.

What I really wanted, and what I still want, is to find out about Sephiroth. Something had happened to him that day, at the Mako Reactor, that had led to Nibelheim being engulfed in flames. I want to know what. Perhaps sifting through the files at Shinra Headquarters will give me some information.

I live close to the Shinra building, and I have made a few friends since I started working there a few years ago: Misty also works for Shinra, on the second floor. Leila lives next door to me. Then, there is Elena, who is part of Shinra's Turks. All of them are nice, but I miss Cloud and Tifa.

_Is Cloud even still alive? _An involuntary shudder coursed throughout the entire length of my body at the thought. _No, he must be alive. He has to be. _I may not have seen him for many years, but I know that Cloud is alive.

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><p>It started out like any ordinary day. I waved to Leila as I left to go to work. I wore a long white lab coat over a white shirt and black skirt. Yes, I had started wearing skirts, although I only really wore them at work. At home, or whenever I go out somewhere, I normally wear a tank top or tee shirt and pants. What can I say? I'm a bit of a tomboy.<p>

At Headquarters, I stopped on the second floor to say hello to Misty before I headed for the Lab on the 67th floor to see if Professor Hojo had anything he needed my help with. There was a new specimen, he told me, but right now he did not need my help as he was going to a meeting in a little while.

So I headed for the research libraries, where Shinra keeps records on all sorts of things: plans for Midgar, files on SOLDIERs, Materia, the Jenova Project. I had already looked through the files on SOLDIERs, and had not found a file for Cloud. That meant he had not become a SOLDIER. So, what then? Had Cloud chosen a different position in Shinra, or had he just gone somewhere and felt too ashamed to return home?

I had told myself that I would look through the files on all the Shinra employees some time, to see if I could find a file on Cloud. I had not done that yet. And I had already decided that today I would look through the files on the Jenova Project. I had no idea what that project was about, and was quite curious to find out what it was.

I headed into the library where the files on the Jenova Project were kept and grabbed a folder off the shelf. Opening the folder, I began to read. After a few moments I heard the library door open, but I did not stop reading to see who it was. I was engulfed by the words on the pages. Then I heard someone gasp. I thought they sounded familiar, so I looked up. And I gasped.

"Addy!" Tifa exclaimed as she stared at me. I noticed a tall, dark skinned man behind her. I wondered who he was. Then another man appeared, whom I recognized. He had spiky blond hair, and blue eyes. And, for some reason, he was wearing SOLDIER attire.

"Brother!" I cried, dropping the folder of files on the floor as I rushed over and hugged him. It was Cloud! I could barely believe that he was here. "Where have you been?" I asked as I pulled away and looked him up and down. He had grown quite a lot, but he was Cloud, all right.

"Around." Cloud answered me, a small smile on his lips. "You work for Shinra now?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied, smiling. "I'm a researcher slash lab assistant." I added proudly.

"Addy," Tifa spoke up, and I turned to her. Some part of me expected her to be a little hostile, considering that I worked for Shinra, whom Tifa hated. Another part of me expected her to be worried about me.

"It's been a while, Tifa." I said. "How have you been?"

"Um, okay." Tifa replied. She didn't sound hostile, just... awkward. Like talking to me was awkward. "Addy, do you know of someone named Aerith?" She asked me. I thought the name sounded a little familiar, but I couldn't quite place it.

"I'm not sure.." I replied. "I think I might have heard someone mention an Aerith before. Why?" I asked, curiously.

"She's a friend of ours and she was kidnapped by the Turks." Tifa explained. I gave a nod.

"Then she must be in the building, somewhere. I can help you look for her." I said, holding up my keycard proudly. "I can't get to every floor, but I can at least get us up to the 67th floor. She might be there." I added.

"If you help us, you could get in trouble, Addy." Cloud spoke up, and I looked at him.

"Well, it's my choice, and I want to help you." I told him. "How did you three get in here, anyway? And who is your friend there, by the way?" I asked, looking at the tall man behind them.

"That's Barret. And we, um, sort of snuck in... And got hold of a keycard." Tifa said. I nodded at the tall man, Barret.

"Name's Adelina Strife, but call me Addy." I told him before eying Tifa. "Snuck in, huh? We better hurry, then. I don't think it will take that long before the guards become aware that there are intruders in the building."

I picked up the files I had scattered on the floor and put them back in their folder. I glanced at the shelf and then at the folder in my hands. I hadn't read much, but what I had read of the Jenova Project so far had caught my attention. I grabbed the other folders with files on the Jenova Project and stuffed them into the bag that I carried with me.

No one was supposed to take files from the libraries, but, hey, if I got caught helping intruders I'd be in big trouble anyway and would probably never get the chance to check out the libraries here again, so I might as well take them with me.

"Follow me." I told them before we left the library. I headed for the stairs. I hardly ever took the elevator, unless I needed to be somewhere fast, because it sort of freaks me out. Cloud, Tifa, and Barret followed behind me as I climbed up the stairs. As we climbed, I spoke to Tifa and found out that only the other day she had been reunited with Cloud. And that she, Cloud, and Barret were members of AVALANCHE.

"Oh, boy. Then you three are really going to be in trouble if you get caught. Having blown those Mako Reactors, and all. And that deal about the plate over Sector 7." I commented.

"It's them Shinra that are responsible for the plate falling in Sector 7!" Barret rumbled at me.

"O-okay. Gotcha." I said to him, eying his gun-arm nervously. Best not to make him angry.

"Addy, are you sure you want to help us?" Tifa asked me. "Who knows what Shinra'll do if they find out you helped us." She added. I shrugged.

"Heh, probably fire me. But, I have the files I want, so let them go ahead and do that." I said, grinning as I patted my bag that held the files on the Jenova Project. Tifa and Cloud still looked at me with worried expressions, and I rolled my eyes at them. "Hey, I'll live. Now, stop worrying." I told them. They both nodded.

We continued up the stairs silently for a while, until an idea struck me. "Hey, since we're going to be in big trouble anyway... Care to listen in on a meeting of the higher-ups?" I asked them. I had always wondered what those meetings were about. "We might find out some useful information." I added when they did not reply right away.

The three of them agreed, and I led them to the 66th floor where the conference room was. "We can't go barging in, obviously." I said. "And, we won't be able to hear anything by listening at the door. But, I do know of a way to spy on them." I said, grinning as I led them to the bathrooms on this floor.

This might seem weird, I'm sure, to some people, but I had been in the bathrooms on this floor before and heard voices, even when there was no one else in there. I had looked around and discovered that the voices were coming from the vent above one of the stalls.

I led Cloud and the others to that stall and pointed out the vent. "We have to get up there." I told them. Cloud went first, taking the cover off the vent and climbing up. Then he helped Tifa and then myself up, and then came Barret. The four of us crawled through the passage, towards the voices. And we discovered another vent cover, above the conference room where the meeting was being held.

"Geez! That's a lotta suits!" Barret remarked as we spied on the meeting. I had to agree with him. There was President Shinra, of course. Then there was Scarlett, a blond haired woman and head of the Weapons Division. I didn't know her well, but I didn't really like her very much. There was also Reeve, an executive in charge of Urban Development; he wasn't so bad. I had run into him once, and he seemed rather nice. There was Heidegger, the head of the Public Maintenance and Order Division, and also Palmer, the head of the Space Development Division. Heidegger I hated, although I didn't know him well, either. Palmer... was just Palmer.

"We have the damage estimates for Sector 7." Reeve was saying. "Considering the factories we already set up and all the investments, the damage is estimated at approximately 10 billion gil."

_That's a lot of gil! _I thought silently, my mouth dropping open.

"The estimated cost to rebuild Sector 7 is-" Reeve was saying, but the President cut him off.

"We're not rebuilding." President Shinra told Reeve. I gasped. Why not rebuild? What about all the people whose homes were destroyed in Sector 7?

"What?" I heard Reeve echo my thoughts.

"We're leaving Sector 7 as it is, and restarting the Neo-Midgar plan." President Shinra explained. _Neo-Midgar? _I had never heard of that before.

"... Then the Ancients?" Reeve asked.

"The Promised Land will be ours. I want you to raise the Mako rates fifteen percent in every area." President Shinra told Reeve. _Fifteen percent! And what's this Promised Land?_ I wondered as they spoke.

"Rate hike! Rate hike! Tra, la, la!" Cried Palmer. "And please, include our Space Program in the budget!" I rolled my eyes at this.

"Reeve and Scarlett will divide the extra income from the rate increase." President Shinra said to Palmer.

"Oh man!" Palmer cried.

"Sir," Said Reeve. "If you raise the rates, the people will lose confidence-" Again, he was interrupted by the President.

"It'll be all right. The ignorant citizens won't lose confidence, they'll trust Shinra Inc. even more." President Shinra said. _Ignorant? _I thought angrily. Heidegger started laughing, which only made me more angry.

"After all, we're the ones who saved Sector 7 from AVALANCHE!" Heidegger said. I heard Barret cursing, and then I saw Hojo enter the conference room.

"Hojo, how's the girl?" President Shinra asked. _What girl? _I wondered.

"As a specimen, she is inferior to her mother. I'm still in the process of comparing her to her mother, Ifalna, but for now the difference is eighteen percent." Hojo told the President.

"How long will the research take?" President Shinra asked Hojo.

"Probably 120 years. It's probably impossible to finish in our lifetime. Or in the lifetime of the specimen, too, for that matter. That's why we're thinking of breeding her. Then we could create one that could withstand our research for a long time." Hojo explained. I was starting to wonder who or what he was talking about.

"What about the Promised Land? Won't it hinder our plans?" President Shinra asked. I was beginning to wonder what this 'Promised Land' was, too.

"That's what I need to plan. The mother is strong.. and yet has her weaknesses." Hojo said, turning around. He looked to be in deep thought. The President took that as the cue to end the meeting, and dismissed everyone. As they were leaving, I noticed Scarlett stop and sniff, then glance up towards the vent.

"Something stinks..." Scarlett commented before leaving the conference room.

_Heh, yeah. The bathroom._ I thought, snickering.

"They were talking about Aerith... Right?" I heard Cloud ask. I looked at the others curiously.

"I dunno. Probably." Said Barret.

"Probably." Said Tifa.

"Knowing Hojo," I decided to chime in. "There's a good chance they were."

"Let's follow 'em." Cloud said, looking at each of us in turn. We nodded, and the four of us crawled back and climbed out of the vent, then left the bathrooms. We peeked around a corner, seeing Hojo head for the stairs.

"Hojo... Huh?" Cloud said before the four of us followed Hojo up the stairs. We stopped on the 67th floor.

"I remember him. That Hojo guy." Barret said. "He's in charge of the Shinra's Science Department." I nodded at this. "Cloud, don't you know him?" I wondered what Barret could mean. How could Cloud know Hojo?

"This is the first time I've actually ever seen him." Cloud said. "So.. that's what he looks like.." He said to himself quietly. I shrugged, deciding not to ask right now why Barret thought Cloud might have known Hojo, and led the others to the lab.


	3. Caught

**Author's Notes: **FF7 and its characters belong to Square Enix. Adelina, AKA Addy, however, belongs to me.

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><p>I led the others to the lab, where they hid while I approached Hojo. He was looking at a red creature being held in a chamber. I had seen this creature before.<p>

"Is this today's specimen?" I asked Hojo, who nodded.

"Yes. We're starting right away. Raise it to the upper level." He told me.

"Right away, Sir." I said, heading to the controls on the upper level. There, I saw a girl being held in a chamber like the one the red creature was being held in on the floor below. _That must be Aerith! _I thought. I was about to open the chamber, but Hojo appeared.

_Darn it! _I thought angrily. Hojo approached the chamber, eying Aerith. I noticed that Cloud, Tifa, and Barret had found their way to the upper level by a different route and had spotted Aerith, too.

"Aerith!" Cloud shouted. Hojo turned and looked at him.

"Aerith?" Hojo wondered aloud. "Oh, is that her name? What do you want?"

"We're taking Aerith back." Cloud told Hojo.

"Outsiders..." Hojo remarked. _No duh. _I thought.

"Shoulda noticed it earlier, you-" Barret rumbled.

"There's so many frivolous things in this world." Hojo said. I watched as Cloud and Barret moved as if to attack Hojo. "Are you going to kill me? I don't think you should. The equipment here is extremely delicate. Without me, who could operate it, hmm?"

_I can operate it. _I thought silently. I wasn't ready to act out against Shinra yet, though. If I did say anything now, would Cloud or Barret kill Hojo? Better to keep quiet, for now. I saw Cloud and Barret lower their weapons. I don't know why I hadn't noticed it before, but I now saw that Cloud carried Zack's sword. _Why?_

"That's right." Said Hojo. "I recommend you think things out logically before you make any rash moves." He told them. "Now, bring in the specimen!" Hojo called up to me. I gulped, then operated the lift that brought up the red creature into the chamber where Aerith was being held. I saw the creature's hackles rise, it's tail sticking straight up and it's teeth bared.

_No, no, no! Don't hurt her, Red! _I begged the creature silently. I watched as Aerith pressed up against the glass of the chamber and looked out at Cloud.

"Cloud, help!" She cried. My heart was pounding. What had I just done?

"What do you think you're doin'?" Cloud asked Hojo. It seemed that Cloud and the others hadn't noticed me, here in the control room for the chambers.

"Lending a helping hand to an endangered species..." Hojo told Cloud. "Both of them are on the brink of extinction. If I don't help, all these animals will disappear."

"Animal..?" Tifa spoke up. "That's terrible! Aerith is a human being!"

"You're gonna pay!" Barret rumbled at Hojo.

"Barret! Can't you do anything?" Cloud asked.

"Awright! Step back!" Barret cried before he aimed his gun-arm at the chamber where Aerith and the red creature were being held.

"Stop!" Hojo cried, but it was too late. Barret fired rapidly at the chamber. "Wh.. What are you do- Oh!" Hojo cried. "My precious specimens..." He said quietly. The chamber's door opened, and the red creature leaped out and attacked Hojo. I came running out of the control room, keeping my distance from the creature and Hojo.

"Now's our chance to get Aerith!" Cloud cried before he raced into the chamber and helped Aerith up. She thanked him, and Aerith came out of the chamber. Cloud acted strange as he came out.

"Cloud... What's wrong?" Tifa asked.

"The elevator is moving." Cloud said. Just as he left the chamber, a monster appeared.

"This is no ordinary specimen." Hojo told us. "This is a very ferocious specimen!"

"He's rather strong." Said the red creature. We all stared at it. "I'll help you all out." It told us.

"It talked?" Tifa and I exclaimed at the same time.

"I'll talk as much as you want later." The creature told us.

"We'll take care of that monster. Somebody take Aerith and Addy somewhere safe." Cloud said, looking at Tifa, who nodded. Tifa, Aerith and myself all moved well out of the way as Cloud, the red creature, and Barret fought the monster. As they fought the monster, I examined Aerith.

She was very pretty, with her long brown hair that was held back in a ponytail and braided. She wore a pink dress and red jacket. I wondered how she knew Cloud. After the monster was taken care of, the three of us approached Cloud.

"Aerith, you all right?" Cloud asked.

"She seems all right.." Tifa said. "In many ways." I had to nod in agreement. After all, Hojo had wanted to _breed _her, and to the red creature at that!

"I have a right to choose, too." Said Red XIII. "I don't like two-legged things."

"What are you?" Barret asked.

"An informed question, but, diffulcult to answer. I am what you see." Red said. "You must have many questions, but first, let's get out of here. I'll lead the way."

"Cloud..." Said Aerith. "So, you did come for me." She said, and Cloud nodded.

"I apologize for what happened back there." Red said to Aerith. "I was merely acting to throw Hojo off guard."

"Now we've saved Aerith," Barret began. "ain't no need to stay in this buildin'! So let's get the hell outta here!"

"That's a good idea." I said.

"If all six of us go together, we'll be noticed." Cloud said. "Let's break up into two groups. Tifa, Addy, and Red XIII, you go first. Then Barret, Aerith, and myself will go."

"Let's meet at the 66th floor elevator." Tifa suggested, and we all nodded.

"Don't be late." Red told Cloud, Barret and Aerith. Red led the way as Tifa and I followed behind him. We had just reached the 66th floor when we spotted a man dressed in a black suit.

_Oh, no, _I thought. The man was a member of the Turks. We tried to slip back into the stairwell, but another man in a black suit was waiting there. A few moments later, Tifa and I had our hands tied behind our backs as we were led to the President's office, Red following. I looked down as the President eyed us.

"You!" I heard the President say. I glanced up and saw him pointing at me. I gulped. "You work here, don't you?" He asked, and I nodded. "So, we've had an AVALANCHE spy in our midst!"

"She wasn't a spy!" Tifa spoke up. "We forced her to help us!"

"Of course you'd say that, to keep your spy here. Even if she isn't a spy, I can't risk the chance that she might be." President Shinra said. I looked down again. A short while later I heard footsteps and looked up. The two Turks, Rude and Tseng, were herding Barret and Cloud over to us. Cloud looked at us.

"You all got caught, too?" He asked. We nodded, and then Cloud looked at the President. "Where's Aerith?"

"In a safe place." President Shinra replied. "She's the last surviving Ancient..." He said, leaving his desk. We all looked at him blankly. "Don't you know? They called themselves the Cetra, and lived thousands of years ago. Now, they are just a forgotten page in history." He explained as he approached us.

"Cetra.. That girl, is she a survivor of the Cetra?" I heard Red ask.

"Cetra, or the Ancients, will show us the way to the 'Promised Land'." President Shinra told us. "I'm expecting a lot out of her."

"The Promised Land? Isn't that just a legend?" Red asked.

"Even so, it's just too appealing to not pursue." Said the President. "It's been said the Promised Land is very fertile. If the land is fertile.."

"Then there's gotta be Mako!" Barret exclaimed.

"Exactly." Said the President. "That is why our money sucking Mako Reactor is necessary. The abundant Mako will just come out on its own. That is where Neo-Midgar will be built. Shinra's new glory..." I heard Barret cursing.

"Quit dreamin'!" Barret told President Shinra.

"Oh really, don't you know? These days, all it takes for your dreams to come true is money and power." Said the President before he dismissed us. Rude shooed us out of the President's way, but Barret still wanted to talk to him and tried to approach him. Rude pushed Barret back.

* * *

><p>We were all taken to rooms on the 67th floor and locked in. They took my bag, with the files on the Jenova Project tucked inside, from me. Before I was shoved into a room, I saw Barret and Red being herded into one room, and Cloud and Tifa into another. I stumbled into the room they had put me in, and noticed I was not alone. Aerith was here as well.<p>

"Hello," Aerith said to me. "We were never properly introduced, were we? I'm Aerith."

"I.. I'm Adelina." I said. "I'm Cloud's adopted sister. You can call me Addy." I told her, and she nodded.

"Cloud never told me he had a sister." Aerith said. I shrugged.

"How do you know Cloud?" I asked, and Aerith told me about how she had met Cloud. How she had hired him as her bodyguard. How they had gotten away from the Turks. How they had saved Tifa from the Don's place in Sector 6, with Cloud dressing up as a girl to do so. I had to laugh at the thought of Cloud dressing up like a girl. _What a sight that must have been!_ The two of us stopped talking when we heard voices. Was that Cloud I heard?

"Cloud, are you there?" Aerith called.

"Aerith? You safe?" Cloud asked. He was in the room beside ours.

"Yeah, I'm all right. And so is Addy." Aerith said.

"Addy, you're in there, too?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah, I'm here, Brother." I said.

"I knew that Cloud would come for me." Aerith said.

"Hey, I'm your bodyguard, right?" Cloud said.

"The deal was for one date, right?" Aerith asked, and I nearly gagged. _Oh, boy. Hope Tifa didn't hear that._

"Oh, I get it." I heard Tifa say.

"Tifa!" Aerith exclaimed, and I saw her blush. "Tifa, you're there too!"

"Excuse me." Tifa said loudly. _Is she jealous, _I wondered? "You know, Aerith, I have a question." She added after a moment.

"What?" Aerith asked.

"Does the Promised Land really exist?" Tifa asked.

"What is the Promised Land anyway?" I asked.

"I don't know." Aerith replied. "All I know is... The Cetra were born from the Planet, speak with the Planet, and unlock the Planet. And... Then... The Cetra will return to the Promised Land, a land that promises supreme happiness."

"What does it mean?" Tifa asked. I wanted to know that myself.

"More than words... I don't know." Aerith said.

"Speak with the Planet?" Cloud wondered aloud.

"Just what does the Planet say?" Tifa asked.

"It's full of people and noisy. That's why I can't make out what they are saying." Aerith replied.

"You hear it now?" Cloud asked.

"I.." Aerith began. "I only heard it at the church in the Slums. Mother said that Midgar was no longer safe. That is.. My real mother. Someday, I'll get out of Midgar... Speak with the Planet and find the Promised Land. That's what mom said. I thought I would stop hearing her voice as I grew up, but..." Aerith fell silent and sat on the lone bed in the room.

Tifa and Cloud were silent, too. No one spoke after that. After a while, I decided to get some rest. Might as well, seeing as how we were locked in these rooms and since my bag had been taken away from me I couldn't read the files I had stashed in it. I sat down on the floor, leaned against the wall, and slept.


	4. Leaving Midgar

**Author's Notes: **FF7 and its characters belong to Square Enix. Adelina, AKA Addy, however, belongs to me.

* * *

><p>The next day, Aerith and I were woken by Tifa, who had found a way into our room. She explained that Cloud had woke up to find that their room was unlocked, and that the guard was dead. They had used the keys to unlock our door. We left our room, and I gasped at the sight of the dead guard.<p>

"What could have happened to him?" I wondered aloud. Cloud looked at me and shrugged.

"Barret's going to stay and clean up. Red XIII's gone on ahead. We should follow him." Cloud explained. "Oh, this is yours, right?" He added, handing me my bag. I nodded gratefully at him and took my bag.

"Thanks." I said, sifting through my bag to make sure the files on the Jenova Project were still there. They were. Cloud, Tifa, Aerith and myself then left to follow Red. We went to the lab, and discovered that Jenova was gone. Blood stained the floor.

"Did it get away? Jenova...?" Cloud wondered aloud.

"Jenova specimen..." Said Red, who waited nearby. "Looks like it went to the upper floor using the elevator for specimens."

And so, we headed to the upper level. Red got there first, and we found him sitting beside a corpse. My hands started to shake as I got closer. I recognized the man who now lay dead on the floor. He had worked in the lab with me.

_What has happened? How could that Jenova thing do this?_ I wondered. And what about Misty, on the second floor? Was she okay? I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Cloud. I felt tears stinging my eyes, but I shook them away. I glanced at Tifa and Aerith. They were looking at me with worried expressions.

"I'm okay." I told them in a steady voice.

"It looks like it leads up..." Red said, talking about a trail of blood. We followed the trail into a hallway. I noticed long, jagged scratches on the walls that looked like they were made by some large creature.

_What the..? _Did the Jenova specimen do this, really? The trail of blood continued up a stairwell and to the 68th floor. More people lay dead on this floor, some in their offices and some in the hallways. We continued on, climbing the stairs that led to the President's office.

"The.. The President!" I gasped. President Shinra sat in his chair, dead, his face on his desk, with a sword sticking out of his back. _Who did this? _I wondered. Barret showed up at that moment.

"He's dead..." Barret said, sounding disbelieving. "The leader of Shinra, Inc. is dead.." At that moment, Tifa went to examine the President's body. I was staring at the sword in the President's back. It seemed familiar, somehow...

"Then this sword must be...?" Tifa exclaimed right at the moment that I realized why that sword looked so familiar. I gasped. _It can't be! It can't be his!_ I rushed over to President's body, staring at the sword. There was no doubt in my mind now.

"Sephiroth's!" Cloud and I exclaimed at the same time. I could hear Sephiroth's voice in my ear, whispering. _I will return for you. _This was Sephiroth's sword. _But you're dead!_

"Sephiroth is alive?" Tifa asked, and Cloud nodded. Tears were stinging my eyes now.

"Looks like it." Cloud said. "Only Sephiroth can use that sword."

"Who cares who did it?" Barret rumbled. "This is the end of the Shinra now!" I was too shaken to mention to him that there was still the Vice President to take over the company. I heard a groan in the corner of the room. Heard someone running. Heard them talking. But I did not hear their words until Sephiroth's name popped up.

"Se.. Sephiroth." Palmer stammered. Cloud and Barret were holding on to his arms, I saw now. "Sephiroth came."

"Did you see him?" Cloud asked. "Did you see Sephiroth?"

"Yeah," Said Palmer. "I saw him! I saw him with my own eyes!"

"You really saw him?" Cloud asked.

"Would I lie to you at a time like this?" Palmer exclaimed, looking at Cloud. "And I heard his voice too! Um, he was saying something about not letting us have the Promised Land." I was sitting on the floor now, unable to stand any longer. _He's alive! Then.._ I felt so many emotions at this realization.

"Then what?" Tifa asked. "Does that mean that the Promised Land really exists and that Sephiroth's here to save it from Shinra?"

"So he's a good guy, then?" Barret asked.

"Save the Promised Land?" Cloud wondered aloud. "A good guy? No way! It's not that simple! I know him! Sephiroth's mission is different!"

_Then what is his mission? _I felt like screaming. _And.. What about me? _Sephiroth's voice kept ringing in my mind. _Stop it! Leave me alone! _I shook my head. It took me a while before I was able to calm myself down. By that time, Palmer had escaped and a helicopter had arrived.

More than that, Rufus was here. Rufus Shinra was the President's son, and the Vice President. Well, I guess he's the President of the company now, with his father being dead. Barret, Cloud, Red, and Tifa were heading outside towards the helicopter.

"You all right?" I jumped at the voice. It was Aerith. She looked at me, seeming a bit worried. I gave her a nod as I stood up.

"I'm... fine." I told her, and then the two of us followed after the others. By the time we caught up with them, Rufus was out of the helicopter and Palmer was speaking with him.

"So..." Rufus began. "So Sephiroth was actually here..." He said before looking at us. "By the way, who are you guys?"

"I'm Cloud, former SOLDIER first class." Cloud said. _What? But, there wasn't a file for him.. _I thought. How could Cloud have been a SOLDIER, and yet not have a file at Shinra Headquarters?

"I'm from AVALANCHE!" Barret rumbled proudly.

"Same here!" Tifa chimed in.

"Flower girl from the slums." Aerith said.

"Research specimen." Red said.

"Um, former researcher slash lab assistant here at headquarters.." I said. Rufus shrugged.

"What a crew. Well, I'm Rufus. The President of Shinra, Inc." Rufus said to us.

"You only President 'cause yer old man died!" Barret rumbled. Rufus turned his back to us.

"That's right." Rufus said. He turned back around and started walking around us as he continued. "I'll let you hear my new appointment speech.." He told us. "Old man tried to control the world with money. It seems to have been working. The population thought that Shinra would protect them. Work at Shinra, get your pay." I looked down when Rufus looked at me.

"If a terrorist attacks," He continued. "the Shinra will help you. It looks perfect on the outside. But, I do things differently. I'll control the world with fear. It takes too much to do it like my old man. A little fear will control the minds of the common people. There's no reason to waste money on them." Rufus now stood by the railing.

"He likes to make speeches, just like his father." Tifa commented. Cloud looked at us.

"Get outta this building with Aerith and Addy!" He said to Barret.

"What?" Barret asked, incredulous.

"I'll explain later!" Cloud said. "Barret! This is the real crisis for the Planet!"

"The hell's that supposed to mean?" Barret asked. I wanted to know that myself.

"I'll tell you later!" Cloud said. "Just take my word for it now! I'll go after I take care of him!"

"Awright, Cloud!" Barret said. I looked at Cloud.

"Brother.." I started.

"Addy, go!" Cloud told me.

"Be careful! And... Please don't kill him!" I told Cloud before I followed the others back into the building. We ran through the President's office and down the stairs. Aerith paused once we had reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Cloud..." Aerith said. "I just thought of something."

"I'll wait for Cloud! Everyone, get to the elevator!" Tifa said. I walked over to her.

"I'm gonna wait for Cloud, too!" I said.

"Addy-" Tifa started to protest, but I shook my head defiantly.

"I'm waiting here with you, Tifa." I told her, looking at her with as much determination as I could muster. She gave a sigh.

"All right." She said. The others left, and Tifa and I waited for Cloud. "Addy?" She asked a few moments later.

"Yeah?" I said, looking at her.

"Are you all right?" She asked me. I stared at her for a moment.

"Why do you ask that?" I asked her. "I don't care if I can't work here anymore. That's not a problem. Like I said before, I have the files I want, so it's okay.." I told her, patting my bag. She shook her head.

"That's not what I meant.." Tifa said. _Then what did you mean? _I wondered. She answered that question a moment later. "If Sephiroth's alive.." She began, but seemed unable to finish what she wanted to say. I looked away. My hand rifled through my bag for a moment before I found what I was looking for.

"Tifa... You remember that day, five years ago?" I asked her. She was quiet for a moment and I glanced at her. She was looking away.

"I remember." She said finally. I took out a picture that I had stashed in my bag. It was the picture that man had taken of Sephiroth, Zack, Tifa, and myself five years ago. When we had arrived back in Nibelheim, he had given a copy of the picture to me.

"I.. I'll be all right.. I guess." I told Tifa as I studied the picture. "I'm not a kid anymore.. But, I can't tell you that I don't care about Sephiroth anymore. I wish I could." Tifa and I fell silent after that, until Cloud came down the stairs. I stuffed the picture back in my bag before looking at him.

"Where's Rufus?" Tifa asked.

"He's not.. dead, is he?" I asked. Cloud shook his head.

"No, I couldn't finish 'em. He took off in that helicopter." He told us. "It looks like this is gonna get complicated."

* * *

><p>Seeing as how the building was now surrounded by Shinra troops, it was not going to be easy for us to get out of the building. Cloud had a plan, though. Tifa and I went on ahead to get the others. When we reached the ground floor, we found Barret firing at the Shinra troops. He glanced at us.<p>

"Tifa! Addy!" He shouted at us. "Where's Cloud?"

"Everyone, over here!" Tifa shouted, heading towards a doorway.

"Huh? What's up?" Barret asked. "Where's Cloud?"

"We'll tell you later!" Tifa said. "Hurry, hurry!" She urged us on. Barret, Aerith, Red XIII, Tifa, and myself all ran to the Shinra parking garage, where all the vehicles were parked. Tifa motioned us over to a blue truck before she got in the driver's side. Aerith hopped in the passenger side, while Barret and myself hopped into the back of the truck.

"Go, go!" I shouted to Tifa once we were all in. She started up the engine and we burst out of the parking garage into the main building, driving up stairs to a higher level. Cloud, riding a motorcycle, met us there.

"We're going through that window! Addy, keep down!" Tifa shouted out the driver's side window.

"I gotcha." Barret rumbled as he towered above me, shielding me from the broken glass that rained down when we sailed through the window. We landed on the highway and sped off, closely followed by Shinra Pursuit Troops. I kept down low as Barret fired at the troops with his gun-arm, and Cloud tried to fend them off using Zack's sword.

Once the troops were out of the way, however, and we had come to a stop at the highway's end, a tank came in to attack us. It seemed that everyone, except myself, fought off the tank. Cloud used Zack's sword, Barret fired at it with his gun arm, Tifa pounded on it with her fists, and Aerith banged on it using a staff.

I wished I could help them, but what could I do? I didn't know martial arts, like Tifa, and I didn't have a weapon. _If only I had some Materia.. _I knew how to use Materia, but I didn't have any. So, I watched from the sidelines as the others fought off the tank. Once the tank was gone, we all stood together.

"Well," Barret began. "What do we do now?"

"Sephiroth is alive..." Cloud said, and I looked away. "I.. I have to settle the score."

"And that'll save the Planet?" Barret asked.

"Seems like it." Cloud replied.

"Awright, I'm going!" Barret rumbled.

"I'll go too..." Aerith said softly. "I have things that I want to find out."

"About the Ancients?" Cloud asked her.

"About many things." Aerith told him.

"I guess this's good bye, Midgar." Tifa said.

"Yeah.." I said suddenly, looking back at Shinra Headquarters. I stuffed my hand into my bag, feeling for the folders that contained the files on the Jenova Project. _Still there.._ At least I had those. And my cellphone, so I could call Leila and Misty later. Maybe Elena, too, but.. _She's a Turk.. _Probably better not to call her, then.

* * *

><p>Later, the six of us stood right outside of Midgar, deciding what we would do next. I had already called Leila and Misty. Both of them were okay, thank goodness. I hadn't told them much about my current situation, just that I was going to be gone for a while and wanted them to know.<p>

"I'm going back to my hometown." Red told us. "I'll go with you as far as that."

"I guess this is the start of our journey..." Tifa said.

"You know what? This is the first time I've ever left Midgar." Aerith said.

"It's dangerous." Cloud said, glancing from Tifa to Aerith and then to myself. "Are you three sure you want to go?"

"Mmm." Tifa said. "But, you know, it should be all right if you keep your promise."

"Of course!" I told him.

"I'd thought you'd say that!" Aerith told him.

"We told Aerith's mom to go somewhere safe, so Marlene should be safe, too." Barret said, sounding a little worried. I had learned that Marlene was his adopted daughter.

"Yeah," Cloud said to Barret. "She should be."

"She said she didn't want to stay in Midgar anymore.." Aerith said. "Maybe it's for the best."

"Then.." Cloud said. "Let's go!"

"We need a group leader for our journey." Barret suggested. "'Course only me could be the leader."

"You think so..?" Tifa asked, looking amused.

"It would have to be Cloud." Aerith said, and I nodded in agreement. Barret cursed.

"Awright. Go northeast to a town called Kalm." Barret said. "If something happens, we'll meet up there. 'Sides, we can't have six people strolling down the fields. It's too dangerous. So, we should split up into two parties."

I, of course, said I would go with Cloud. Aerith decided to join us. Barret, Tifa, and Red XIII went on ahead of us. We waited a little while before we followed, heading for the town called Kalm.


	5. Cloud's Story

**Author's Notes: **FF7 and its characters belong to Square Enix. Adelina, AKA Addy, however, belongs to me.

Also, thank you to Dontgotaclue88 and Sayomi-hime for the reviews! And, thank you to those of you who have added this story to your faves/alerts! It means a lot to mean!

Also, I'm writing this story as I play through FF7 again. So, I'm sorry if takes me a while to update it. I play through the game until I think I have enough to work with and then start writing!

* * *

><p>Getting to Kalm was not easy. More than once along the way, we encountered monsters that both Cloud and Aerith fought off. I again felt helpless, useless, as I couldn't help them. I could only stay out of the way as they fought. I really needed to get some materia. Perhaps I would find some in Kalm.<p>

Considering how late it had been when we had left Midgar, we ended up having to camp out that night. Cloud and Aerith took turns keeping watch. I had insisted on having a turn myself, but seeing as how I had nothing to fight a monster off with if one did attack, Cloud told me to get my rest and not to worry about it.

* * *

><p>We got an early start in the morning, but it still wasn't until mid-afternoon when we finally arrived in Kalm.<p>

"I wonder if everyone's here already. Let's hurry over to the Inn!" Aerith said, heading for the Inn.

"I need to stop by a shop real quick, Brother; I'll meet you at the Inn." I told Cloud.

Cloud nodded and headed for the Inn, while I looked around for a shop that sold materia. I was in luck, as I found a little shop that had some materia for sale. It was expensive, but well worth the price. I bought a healing materia and also a couple of elemental materia. Satisfied, I left the shop and headed for the Inn.

* * *

><p>Cloud and the others were on the 2nd floor of the Inn, as I found out from the Innkeeper. So, I went up the stairs and was greeted by a chorus of their voices.<p>

"You're late!" Aerith said, causing me to blush.

"Yo, you're late, Addy!" Barret rumbled.

"Addy, what took you so long?" Tifa asked.

"Sorry, but I had to buy some materia." I replied.

"Guess everyone's here now." Aerith said.

"So, let's hear your story..." Barret said, looking at Cloud. "You know, the one about Sephiroth and the crisis facing the planet. Let's hear it all."

I watched as Cloud looked down at the floor for a moment.

"I used to want to be like Sephiroth, so I joined SOLDIER." Cloud began to explain.

Again, I wondered what he was talking about. I _know _I didn't see a file for him as a SOLDIER... Unless Shinra had disposed of it for some reason, which seemed unlikely. I decided to listen to more of his story, without saying anything just yet.

"After working with Sephiroth on several missions, we became friends." Cloud continued.

"You call that a friend?" Barret rumbled.

"Yeah, well... He's older than me, and he hardly ever talked about himself. So, I guess you'd call him a war buddy... We trusted each other. Until one day... " Cloud explained, falling silent.

"One day?" Aerith asked, in an attempt to get Cloud to continue the story.

"After the war, it was SOLDIER's duty to put down any resistance against Shinra. That was five years ago. I was sixteen..." Cloud said, telling us the story.

* * *

><p>It was raining hard that day, Cloud explained. He and Sephiroth were in a truck with two infantryman, on a mission to investigate the old Mako Reactor in Nibelheim. On their way, they fought a dragon-like monster. Cloud explained Sephiroth's prowess in battle, his amazing strength.<p>

I found his story fascinating, while at the same time it confused me. _That can't be right, though. Cloud wasn't in Nibelheim that day... It was Sephiroth and Zack!_

"Sephiroth's strength is unreal." Cloud said, breaking me out of my thoughts. "He is far stronger in reality than any story you might have heard about him."

"So... Where do you come in?" Aerith asked.

"Me?" Cloud asked her. "I was mesmerized by the way Sephiroth fought... And then we reached Nibelheim."

* * *

><p>Cloud picked up the story again, telling us about how Sephiroth had talked about his mother, Jenova, dying while giving birth. <em>Wait... Jenova? <em>I fumbled through my bag, grabbing the folders on the Jenova Project. I opened the first folder as the others spoke. Barret was asking Cloud about Jenova, and Tifa told him to let them hear what Cloud had to say before asking questions.

I was only partly listening to their conversations now as I scanned the first page on the Jenova Project. _Ancient... Cetra... So, Jenova came from some other planet, originally? _I heard Aerith's voice ring out, breaking me out of my thoughts. I looked up and listened to what they were saying.

"I was really surprised with Tifa, and Addy." Cloud said. "The town was quiet... Everyone must be staying in their homes, afraid to come out because of the monsters. No, maybe they're afraid of us..."

_Something's wrong here..._ I thought. But, I didn't know what just yet. I glanced down at the files I held, scanning the page quickly. _Prof. Gast... He named Jenova... _I heard Barret rumble something, and Aerith said something as well. I looked back up and listened.

"Tell us more!" Barret said. "You saw your family, right?"

"I don't know if you could call it a 'family'... My father... died when I was still very young. That's why mom and Addy were... living alone in this house." Cloud explained. "Yeah, I saw my mom and Addy. My mom... she was a vibrant woman. Hadn't changed at all. And Addy, she had grown so much..."

* * *

><p>I was so confused as Cloud continued to tell us his story. He told us about seeing his mother, and seeing me. But, <em>he hadn't. <em>He hadn't been there! The more I listened, the more I felt that something was very wrong. I wondered if Tifa felt the same. I had stopped reading the files on the Jenova Project, engulfed as I was in Cloud's story.

He continued to tell us about going to the Inn in Nibelheim, and meeting Zangan, Tifa's martial arts trainer. He told us about Sephiroth hiring a guide, which turned out to be Tifa. How she met them by the Shinra Manor at dawn, and how I happened along. He told us about the picture being taken, and how we went on our way into Mt. Nibel.

He told us about reaching the Mako Reactor, about how _he _and Sephiroth went into the Reactor to investigate. About seeing monsters held in tanks inside the Reactor. About Sephiroth snapping and wondering if he were the same as those monsters. My mind was reeling from listening to all this. I knew what had happened, and maybe some parts of his story did actually happen... But, Cloud hadn't been there! It was like he thought himself to be Zack Fair, I realized.

I heard Barret curse as he listened to Cloud's story. He said something about hating Shinra. Tifa commented on the story, as well. Red XIII said that Cloud's story seemed to explain the increase in monsters, and then he said something to Barret. I heard Aerith and Tifa exchange some words, but I wasn't listening to them.

"We returned to Nibelheim. Sephiroth confined himself at the Inn. He didn't even try to talk to me." Cloud told us.

"Then, all of a suddent he just disappeared, right?" Tifa asked, and Cloud nodded.

"We found him inside the biggest building in Nibelheim." Cloud said.

"The villagers used to call it Shinra Mansion." Tifa remarked.

"Long ago," Cloud began. "People from Shinra used to live in that mansion..."

* * *

><p>Cloud told us about he and an infantryman headed for the mansion, Cloud entering to look for Sephiroth. An infantryman in a room on the top floor had told him that he had seen Sephiroth enter that room, but now he was gone. Cloud found an old door in the room, which led down to a basement of sorts. He found Sephiroth, pacing, in a room in the basement.<p>

Cloud explained how Sephiroth was reading aloud from files he held in his hands. Files on the Jenova Project. I looked back at the files I held, but looked back up when Cloud explained how Sephiroth had made a connection between the Jenova Project, and his mother, Jenova. He explained how Sephiroth had wanted to be left alone, so Cloud had left the room.

Sephiroth had stayed in the mansion, in the basement, for a long time. Cloud said that Sephiroth had continued to read as if possessed by something, and not once did the light in the basement go out. When Cloud returned to the basement, Sephiroth was laughing like a mad man. Sephiroth had been angry by the intrusion, calling Cloud a traitor.

Cloud told us what Sephiroth had supposedly told him: that the planet had originally belonged to the Cetra. That the Cetra would migrate in, settle a planet, and then move on. Supposedly, at the end of their journey they would find the Promised Land. But, those who disliked the journey decided to stop their migrations; our ancestors.

I was engulfed in this story. And then, Cloud told us about how the Jenova Project wanted to produce people with the powers of the Ancients, the Cetra. Sephiroth had been produced this way. I was shocked. I listened on as Cloud explained how Sephiroth left the mansion, setting the town ablaze, and then went to the Mako Reactor. _He must have went there after he saved me..._

Cloud told us about how Tifa's father had been attacked by Sephiroth. About how Tifa had tried to attack Sephiroth in turn, only to have him attack her instead. Cloud explained how Sephiroth had found Jenova at the Reactor, and about he had challenged Sephiroth. But, Cloud couldn't remember how that fight had went. It was a blank spot in his memory.

_Something is definitely very wrong here... _I had stopped listening to their conversations. My hands were trembling. What had happened to Cloud's memory? The sound of footsteps broke me out of my thoughts, and I looked up to see Barret heading for the stairs. He paused and looked back at Cloud.

"Yo, Cloud! Let's get a move on!" Barret rumbled.

"Wait a sec." Cloud told him, looking at me. "Are you all right, Addy?"

"I... I'm fine..." I told him, realizing that I was still trembling.

"Yo, come on! We can't let Sephiroth or Shinra get to no Promised Land! If they do, then we're all screwed, y'know?" Barret rumbled at us.

Cloud and I both nodded in response.

"Y'all jes leave it to me!" Barret told us before he left.

"Oh, brother..." Cloud muttered.

"...Cloud?" Tifa asked quietly. "How bad was I when Sephiroth cut me?"

"I thought you were a goner..." Cloud say, looking at Tifa. "I was really sad."

"I... The Ancients..." Aerith murmured. "Cetra... Jenova... Sephiroth and myself..."

"Let's go, Barret's waiting." Tifa said.

Red XIII, Cloud, Aerith, and Tifa began to head for the stairs.

"Tifa..." I called.

Tifa paused and looked back at me, while the others left. I had dropped the files on the Jenova Project to the floor, and I was sitting on a bed. My hands still trembled. She walked over to me, sitting down beside me.

"Addy, what's wrong?" She asked me.

"Tifa... You... You noticed it, too, didn't you...? Cloud's memory? It's... all wrong!"

For a moment Tifa was silent. I saw her looking down at her hands. I fumbled in my bag, bringing out the picture from all those years ago. I showed it to her.

"Cloud's not in this picture... So, how does he know so much about what happened? And, why does he think he was actually there?" I asked.

"I... I don't know, Addy..." Tifa told me, shaking her head. "Just... Just don't mention it to him right now... all right?"

I agreed to keep quiet, and I put the picture back in my bag before I collected the files on the Jenova Project, also placing them in my bag. Tifa and I headed down the stairs together, and met up with the others.

"Yo, you have phones?" Barret asked us.

I nodded, pulling out my cellphone. Tifa shook her head, and Barret handed her a cellphone. He had given Cloud and Aerith cellphones, too, and he had each of us add each other's numbers into our cellphones so we could stay in contact when separated. After that, it was decided that we should leave Kalm.


End file.
